The Minor Scale
by Dark Nemesis 7
Summary: A piano drops on Neji's head and all he seems to remember is Tenten. Now he's like her own personal stalker! Chap. 2 up FINALLY!
1. Neji's introduction to the grand piano

The chars in this fic are 14.  
  
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Neji's eye twitched.Here he was,the most prestigious ninja of his year,genius of the Hyuuga Clan,being pestered by his Sensei and his teammate,Rock Lee,who had recently recovered. Tenten was too busy drawing people dying in her notebook to annoy him as they walked to the training grounds,and he was happy.Not that she annoyed him often.Only when she...  
  
Rock Lee nudged Neji in the shoulder."Hey Neji,you've just walked into a construction zone.Be careful." Neji glanced around and noticed that it was true.Some female shinobi was moving,and he himself had to move aside to avoid the crane that was currently carrying the woman's grand piano (which she obviously couldn't roll downstairs) through the air. "Hey kid, watch it,this is a danger zone," a man called.Neji rolled his eyes and went back to his thinking.Where was he? Ah yes.Not that Tenten annoyed him,only when she...  
  
"Hey il fait neige*,wait up!"  
  
Neji flinched.The only time Tenten annoyed him was when she called him by his annoying nickname.He whirled around."Whadda you want?" he asked glaring.Just then the working man yelled, "Kid,watch out!" Neji didn't even have time to look up before the grand piano fell on him.  
  
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Tenten stood by Neji's bedside,anxiously awaiting her teammate's awakening.Outside,she could hear Gai and Rock Lee conversing with the same nurse who had treated Lee."He has a bad concussion,and may act different from the way he acted before,may not remember things,etc. You'll have to be patient for a while before we can be sure of his condition," the nurse said in a hushed tone.She was very nice,Tenten thought.The young kunoichi looked down at her death drawing.It was Neji being crushed by the piano.She shuddered.It was all still very vivid in her memory,though it was noon of the next day;the crunch,Neji's screams of pain that were cut short 3 minutes after he had been crushed,the blood that splattered everywhere...The man had said it was an accident,but when the person running the crane got out,he had been wearing a very sour expression and had muttered,"Damn Hyuugas."  
  
Tenten snapped out of her reverie when the boy in question groaned and opened his eyes. She gasped and leaned over him.Though he had survived with a remarkable lack of injury (though various gashes across his chest and back and other appendages (no not his privates you pervs I know what you're thinking) made up for the fact that no bones were broken),the doctors had said that he might be out for another day."Neji?" she asked timidly.He was staring up at her,mouth open and eyebrows curving in an almost scared expression."Tenten," he recalled,relaxing.The nurse and other two members of Team 9,hearing his voice,opened the door.He looked over at them,then back at Tenten."Who are they?" he asked in a low voice.Her eyebrows shot up.He remembered her,but not his sensei and rival? Something was definitely wrong.Then she remembered what the medic lady had said.'He has a bad concussion and may act different from the way he acted before;may not remember things,etc.You'll have to be patient for a while before we can be sure of his condition.' That must be it."Your rival and teammate,Rock Lee,and your sensei,Gai." He looked at her for a second,then nodded.The other three occupants of the room raised their eyebrows at Neji's odd behaviour."Well,let's go train! Come on,Lee,Tenten,let's get Neji ready to go!" Gai shouted as he pumped his fist into the air,breaking the silence.  
  
As Tenten waited outside for Rock Lee to be done helping Neji dress,she worked on her death scene.When the green-clad shinobi opened the door,Neji came tumbling out with his hairbrush in hand."Lee dressed me,you can brush my hair," he said pointedly as he stood with his hands on his knees,panting.Tenten lifted an eyebrow at Rock Lee,but he just shrugged.So Tenten said,"Sure Neji,I'll brush your hair." She sat him down on his hospital bed so his legs hung off,then she sat on the bed herself cross-legged and undid the little elastic that held his hair together.She then took the brush and,starting carefully at the bottom,gradually brushed upwards, untangling any knots.His hair is so long and silky,she thought.Wonder if he has any dandruff problems.  
  
Once she was done,they stood up and he thanked her,then all 3 people left to meet Gai. When they got to the clearing,they found their eccentric teacher playing Go Fish with his turtle.He quickly stood up and said,"Good to see you back in action,Neji!" Neji just nodded.He was standing behind Tenten as though she was a protective shield."Follow me!" Gai suddenly shouted and paraded out of the clearing,card game forgotten.  
  
The training area that Gai led Team 9 to was simply a perfect row of trees,Tenten noticed.Gai stood proudly in front of them,hands on hips and said,"Yep,my great-grandpa grew them himself." "ALL by himself?" Tenten questioned.Gai looked a bit sheepish for a second as he said,"Well,actually,his wife did most of the growing." But then he quickly turned back to normal and proclaimed,"We will be running up and down this row of trees throwing kunai at each other! Your goal is to be the one least hit at the end of the day! Go!"  
  
As they ran around the trees,Tenten smiled.Unlike the others,she wore clothing with a layer of thin bendy metal embedded in the middle and had enough kunai to donate to charity and make a difference.But Rock Lee was faster than her,and so was Gai,so that gave them something to gloat over.However,she was faster than Neji,so she had him there.  
  
She was so caught up in her train of thought,she didn't see the approaching kunai sent by Rock Lee until she knew she wouldn't be able to dodge it.She closed her eyes and lifted her arms to take the impact,but she never felt it.She opened her eyes,confused,and saw Neji standing in front of her,kunai sticking out of his sleeve.He turned to her,smiling faintly,and said,"Be careful,Tenten." Then he ran off.  
  
At the end of training,Neji won with only the blow that he had taken for Tenten. Apparantly no one wanted to hit him after his piano experience.  
  
Tenten didn't get hit the whole time through with any of Neji's kunai.  
  
After lessons,Neji timidly came over to Tenten and asked,"Is it okay if I walk with you to your house?" Tenten was surprised,but nodded.On the way home,Neji constantly stood behind and to the left of her.She didn't let it show,but it freaked her out ever so little.Also,the people who knew Neji and knew that he didn't usually act like this didn't help.To top it all off,when they got to the young kunoichi's home,Neji opened the door for her and said,"See ya tomorrow, Tenten," before he walked off.Tenten just blinked as her mom whispered,"So you have a Hyuuga after you? Oooh,lucky girl! I hear they're hard to get!"  
  
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*Il fait neige='It is cold' in Canadian French.Suitable for Neji because his attitude is so cold.And 'neige' sounds like 'Neji.'  
  
So,whaddya think? Look promising? Please tell me! R&R! 


	2. Plans for tomorrow and ice cream for tod...

Well, here you go! I'm working on various other works, so I was still writing this, just not usually. Oo Okay, that was kinda lame. But still!   
  
Well, onto business. Thank you for all the reviews! Here are the responses, please read them. As my teacher would say, they may answer your questions:  
  
Fwoggie: Thank you ever so much for the praise. Sorry if the grammar is off. Perhaps I come from a different part of the world than you, because to me it looks just fine but hey, I also suck at proofreading and no one wants to help me with it.  
  
Millie-chan: - Thanks for: a) agreeing about the Hyuuga's hard-to-get-ness and b) telling my my story is promising! It means a lot to me!  
  
izumi-17: I think it's god too! I even gave it its own temple! Haha, just kidding. I know what you meant. Did I update son enough? Joking, joking.  
  
Ice-Ace: Well, I finally updated. 'Tis a fun idea, isn't it? I thought of it before piano lessons one day.  
  
Jingle Bells: Yep, it's NejiTen! Here's your update! Does this make me a good moron?  
  
Darker Magenta: Thanks!   
  
fireblazie: Thank you! Oh, and it's supposed to be a little OOC, on Neji's part. After all, he just had a piano dropped on his head!   
  
Melissa: Yeah, see below for my answer to this one. And you weren't being rude! You were being helpful.  
  
;akdlfj: THANK YOU! glomps and does a little jig  
  
hiko ghert: Yep, NejiTen! And I know about the Il fait neige thing. And, in response to your question, it was my laziness. == But look! I've fixed it now. -  
  
DarkDemonMaster: Thank you!   
  
Neji: They considered me! Destiny will favour you. You are a good person.   
  
Cookie6: Thank you for your review! And thanks for trying to help me with ideas. I can't even find words to say how much that helps me. And inspires me.   
  
SpiritGoddess: Yup, it's NejiTen! I love that coupling too, that's why I'm writing about it!   
  
kappamaki: Thank you! There can never be too many Neji fics, no?  
  
Enjoy!  
  
PS: I feel quite stupid. Thanks to all of you who pointed out that 'Il fait neige' means,'It is snowing.' But snow is cold! So I get the point through....Right?

Tenten awoke the next morning to someone staring down at her and fought down the instinct to whip a few thousand kunai at their head when she recognized them as Neji. "I couldn't remember where my house is," he explained. Sighing, she sat up and asked,"How did you get in?" He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, saying, "Front doors are expendable." "You knocked down the front door?!?" she asked with wide eyes. He blushed and lowered his head while murmuring,"No, merely removed it." Tenten sat there for a second before realizing that he was also twiddling his fingers. He was being shy around her! NEJI being SHY around HER! 'Wonder what he's all bothered about,' she thought. "It's okay, Neji. How about before we go to practice you help me put the door back on?" she said kindly. He looked up and nodded happily. "Well then, you have to leave the room while I get changed. Wait for me by the front door," she instructed. Smiling eagerly, Neji left her room. As she dressed, Tenten thought,'That nurse wasn't kidding when she said that Neji was gonna be different for a while.'  
  
When Tenten came downstairs, she saw that Neji had already gotten the screwdriver from the garage and brought the door to its frame. She was happy that her mother didn't get up until later; she was the kind of person who'd jump to conclusions if she saw a boy in the house. With that in mind, Tenten picked up the screwdriver and hinges and said," I'll reattach the door if you'll hold it there." Neji nodded. So Tenten came forwards and had the proper accessories in her hand when she realized that there weren't any screws there. "Hey Neji, where'd you put the screws?" He replied,"I put them in my pocket. Here, I'll get them," and was just about to let go of the door when the kunoichi noticed something. "Neji, I'll get them. You'll have to let go of the door to get them." With that, Tenten approached him and reached down his pocket.   
  
She could feel the elastic band of his underwear through his pants against her wrist as she searced around for the screws and blushed slightly. Finding something, she pulled up to reveal a picture. However, she didn't get a chance to look at it before the other shinobi couloured, took it from her and shoved it down his other pocket. "That's not them," he said lightly. Nodding, Tenten reached down again and found the screws. Going back to her place, she put the screws in place, then reattached the door.  
  
Later, as they walked off towards the training spot, Tenten inquired,"Neji, why did you put the screws in your pocket? You left the hinges on the floor and God knows you left the door in the bathtub." He looked at her and then turned away again, murmuring, "They helped me remember my name." Tenten said nothing, just put her arm around Neji's shoulders sympathetically.  
  
Neji and Tenten reached the training centre just in time to hear Gai and Rock Lee cheer. They were reading Gai's emails and had obviously seen something satisfactory. When they approached the pair, they saw that Gai's email had been from ; they had found someone who matched Gai's requirements in a woman and she would email him tomorrow. "Gai-sensei, are you going to have a child?" Rock Lee asked. "If I do, you know what I'll name it?" Gai questioned. Rock Lee shook his head. "Rock Lee!" Gai shouted and they hugged each other in front of a sunset, tears streaming down both of their faces. "Oh, Gai-sensei..." Rock Lee said. "Rock Lee..." Gai replied. "Hey, did we come here to train or participate in Homo Romance Utopia?" Tenten asked irritably. The two green-clad shinobi snapped out of their poses and quickly closed the laptop. "Very well Tenten! We will train now," Gai said. "We will be practicing stealth today. You will enter the forest and try to approach the other without them noticing. Then, when you are close enough, do something to inform them of your presence. I will be participating also. The person who catches all three first wins. When someone achieves this, send a large burst of chakra into the sky, and we'll all meet back here. GO!" he yelled before running.  
  
Tenten ran off into the forest and surveyed her surroundings. 'Well, I can't feel anyone else's chakra, so I'm fine... For now,' she thought. With that in mind, she trudged off warily.  
  
For a whole hour, Tenten didn't come into any human contact, and was beginning to think that the others had ditched her and left when she felt a pair of arms slip around her shoulders and pull her close to a warm body. Surprised, she looked up to see Neji looking down at her. "Gotcha," he said before disappearing off into the forest.  
  
Tenten sat down on a tree branch and put a hand up to feel her heartbeat. Pounding. Oh great. She wouldn't be leaving this branch anytime soon.   
  
It ended up that Neji won again. No one really wanted to surprise him; with his odd behaviour as of late, they weren't sure that he wouldn't have a heart attack or a mental breakdown or something.   
  
Before they separated for the day, Gai said,"Let's go get ice cream to celebrate my date-- I mean, Neji's recovery! I'll pay." Neji shot Tenten a questioning glance, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Gai put his arms around the group and steered them towards the town.  
  
At the ice-cream stand, Rock Lee said,"Tenten, ladies first!" Tenten smiled, said,"Thank you, Lee," and turned away just in time to see Neji send a glare Rock Lee's way. Tenten ignored it, though, and simply said,"Mint Chocolate medium cone, please." Once she had her cone, Rock Lee stepped forwards and said,"Two Pistachio medium cones, please." He was obviously ordering for their sensei also. "Ummm....What flavours are there?" Neji questioned Tenten. After she recited the flavours, he went with Bubblegum and all four of them sat on a bench, eating creamed ice in companionable silence.  
  
Halfway through her cone, Gai stood up and approached her and said,"Tenten, can I talk to you for a minute?" Confused, Tenten nodded and stood up. But as soon she began walking, Neji stood up too. "In private, Neji," Gai stated, and Neji sat down. Gai gestured towards Tenten and they walked off into the forest.  
  
"Tenten," Gai said as he sat down on a tree stump,"I'm worried about Neji." "Me too," Tenten replied, wondering where this was going. Gai looked at her for a second, then nodded. "I thought you would be. After all, he has taken quite a shine to you. But I think he needs help." "Whaddaya mean by that?" Tenten said. Gai said,"I think he needs to see a psychiatrist, or someone who can try and find out what he remembers, what he doesn't remember and why he remembers you." Tenten blinked. "Why aren't you telling this to his mom, then?" she inquired. Gai sighed and said,"Tenten, Neji's mom's been in the hospital since he was six. She has a disease that makes living every day hard for her. She doesn't know what happened to him, and we'd like to keep it that way. The shock at his state might send her over the edge, and she still has a chance at survival. He lives alone with his little sister, who knows of his situation, but may or may not be able to take care of him." Gai finished and looked at her. Tenten was standing there with raised eyebrows. "Poor Neji," she whispered. "Anyways," Gai continued, "The psychiatrist says he can get him in tomorrow lunch at nearest. So we'll train until then, and after lunch you and I'll train alone. I don't think I ever really gave you your due, Tenten. You're the best kunoichi of your year, and it shows. The only reason you lost to that Sand witch is that you're two years younger than her." Gai looked Tenten straight in the eye. She smiled. "Thank you, Gai." They both just sat there for a bit, then Tenten said,"Sooo... Neji's going to his home tonight, right?" Gai shook his head. "His little sister doesn't think she can handle him. I also wanted to ask if you could take care of him for tonight." Tenten blinked. "Uh... I'd have to ask my mom..." Gai burst out laughing. "Of course! Let's go ask her right now." Tenten sweatdropped and said, "Sure... But she teaches at the Academy, and might not enjoy being interrupted..." "Of course she will!" Gai yelled, standing up and grabbing Tenten's wrist before running off to Rock Lee and Neji, who, like the other two, had finished their ice cream cones while Tenten and Gai talked. The over-enthusiastic sensei skidded to a stop and shouted,"Come Rock Lee, Neji! We are off to see Tenten's mother, Mrs. Nariko!" before running off again. The two male shinobi could do nothing but follow.  
  
When they reached the Academy, they found Mrs.Nariko putting papers into a briefcase and readying herself to go home. When she heard Gai enter the classroom, she looked up and screeched, "Look at those marks on the linoleum! Sir, you will clean those off RIGHT NOW if you want to see tomorrow." Gai nodded, dumbstruck, and went to the sink to get the cleaning materials. When he moved away, Mrs. Nariko saw Tenten and smiled. "Oh, hi dear! We're ordering pizza tonight, so you don't have to worry about getting anything on your way home, if that's you came to ask." Tenten shook her head and questioned, "Mom, Neji has nowhere to go tonight. Can he sleep at our house tonight? I promise he won't try anything. Right, Neji?" She nudged Neji, and he quickly nodded. "I would never try to hurt Tenten," he said. The kunoichi's mother studied both of them for a bit, then said finally,"Tenten, can I talk to you for a minute?" "EVERYONE wants to talk to Tenten," Rock Lee complained. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he fidgeted uncomfortably and said,"What? I haven't said anything for a while."  
  
In the hall, Mrs. Nariko whispered,"You have complete faith in him? You're absolutely positive that he won't try to... Well... YOU know..." Tenten nodded. "We're only fourteen, mom. He won't try anything." The female Academy sensei pursed her lips and said, "They were only forteen in Battle Royale, too..." Tenten rolled her eyes. Her mother had liked the movie so much she had bought the book and manga, too. "In his present state, mom, I'm a lot stronger than him. If he tries anything, I'll snap his arms, or his legs." Comforted, Mrs. Nariko said, "Well, he looks harmless enough. He can stay overnight." Tenten grinned. "Thanks, mom."   
  
Tenten leaned back on the couch, watching Neji with amusement. "You have to push the torch in front of the Djinni, or else it'll just keep flying around," she stated. He was playing Golden Sun: The Lost Age on her Gameboy Player so that she could watch him and help out. He nodded and captured the Djinn just as Tenten's mother yelled, "Supper!" Standing up, Tenten paused Neji's game and and they walked to the table.  
  
When they sat down at the table, Tenten's father, Mr.Nariko, gave Neji an odd look and said,"So...Who's this?" For a split second, no one said anything, then Tenten's brother came down the stairs. "Him? He's Tenten's BOYFRIEND," Mizuki said. "Is not!" Tenten objected. "He's Neji Hyuuga, my teammate. He'll be staying overnight." Mizuki looked at her, smiled kitty-like and said, "Overnight? Name the baby after me." Tenten glared at him and yelled, "Stop it!" "It's oookay," Neji said soothingly, trying to calm her down. "Awww, look at 'em, mom. Aren't they a cute couple? He even stands by her when she's angry, which is most of the time," Mizuki cooed, then warned Neji,"Careful, she gets pissy when she's PMS-ing." "MIZUKI!" Tenten yelled. Neji put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't let him get to you, he's just trying to bug you," he offered. She sighed. "You're right," she conceded. "Since none of the girls look twice at him, he's just jealous that I got all of the good looks." "MOM!!!" Mizuki yelled. "Both of you kids stop yelling at each other or I'll have to add you to this pizza like I did your brother Niuku," Mrs. Nariko scolded. "I had another brother?" Tenten asked disbelievingly. "You ATE him?!?" Mizuki asked with the same level of Oo ness. "She's just joking," Mr. Nariko said, giving his wife a dirty look. Tenten and Mizuki both sighed with relief.  
  
That night, Tenten sat on her bed, garbed in her pyjamas, and watched Neji fiddle around with her old instant camera. "Il fait Neige, what are you doing?" she questioned. "Figuring out how it works," he answered as he finally managed to discover the secret to using an instant camera. "You want it? I have a digital camera now," Tenten said casually. Neji stared at her for a minute, then smiled broadly. "Thank you!" he cried. Tenten felt her heart speed up again. 'He looks gorgeous when he smiles,' she thought.

Tenten rolled over to look at her clock and discovered that it was midnight. It had been an hour since her and Neji had said goodnight, but she still couldn't get to sleep. While she was still on her side, Tenten looked over at Neji, who had fallen asleep five minutes after lights out. She sighed. Though he acted like he was just fine, everyone (including her) seemed to forget that Neji was still injured. Tenten let her gaze settle on a cut that spread across Neji's forehead. Two thinner cuts ran parallel to it, each with the exact same amount of room between it and the larger cut. They had been caused, the workers that pulled Neji from the piano had said, by the strings inside of the offending musical instrument.   
  
Subconsciously Tenten let her eyes wander from the cuts on Neji's bare forehead to search his face and body. Neji's body was slender and (dare Tenten think it?) sensual beneath his covers, which accented every feature of his delicious figure. His face was equally equisite, with his full pink lips, parted and slightly moist, his cheeks, so lightly flushed that it looked like someone had dabbed him with a cotton ball filled with the best of paints, his eyes, closed so that the long lashes touched his delicate cheekbones, his lustrous hair, perfectly framing his beautiful visage, his breath, softly travelling between both his lips, his supple skin, pale in complexion but not unhealthily so, the bones finely carved beneath it... Tenten shook her head violently and closed her eyes tighly. What was she thinking? This was Neji! He didn't look that way! Then Tenten snuck another peek at Neji and quickly turned back to face the wall.  
  
Well... He kinda did.

So, what you think? R&R! Thank you and goodnight! bows, expecting flowers but instead gets hit with a telephone as someone screams, "You shoulda updated sooner, ya idiot!" Hey, gimme a break! It's 12:30 midnight, go easy on me! Besides, I said I was sorry. 


End file.
